Cross Country (M) Links

Trojan Cross Country Earns Academic Honors

February 16, 2014

NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association (USTFCCCA) has announced the 2013 DII Cross Country All-Academic Awards, with Anderson’s Parks Edwards and Olivia Gardner being named to the teams.

On the men’s side, Edwards, a senior from Greenville, S.C. who carries a 3.80 GPA and is majoring in Christian Studies, was one of 212 men in Division II who earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors for the 2013 cross country season.

Honorees must have compiled a cumulative GPA or 3.25 or greater and must have finished among the top 30 percent of total eligible runners at his regional championship (total Division II teams in the region multiplied by seven runners per team) or in the top half of the field at the NCAA Championships.

Those 212 men hail from 96 different institutions and 22 different conferences. Indiana (Pa.) was the best represented program with six individual earning All-Academic honors, followed by Saint Leo and Tampa with five apiece.

The PSAC led the way in conference representation with 31 total honorees, followed by the GLIAC with 22 and the Northeast-10 with 17.

Twelve student-athletes reported 4.0 cumulative GPAs. Of the 40 All-Americans, 21 earned All-Academic honors; as did 12 of the top 25 finishers.

Gardner, a freshman majoring in Psychology with a 3.71 GPA, was one of 337 women in Division II who earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors for the 2013 cross country season. Those 337 women hail from 126 different institutions and 22 different conferences. Shippensburg, Western State and Adams State topped the list with seven honorees each, followed by seven teams with six selections apiece: Northern Michigan, Southwest Baptist, Seton Hill, Edinboro, West Georgia, West Texas A&M and Neb.-Kearney.

The PSAC again led the way in conference representation with 59 total honorees, followed by the GLIAC with 33 and the Northeast-10 with 29.Thirty-four student-athletes reported 4.0 cumulative GPAs. Of the 40 All-Americans, 24 earned All-Academic honors; as did 15 of the top 25 finishers.

Both the Trojan men’s (3.19 GPA) and women’s (3.26 GPA) cross country squads were among 136 women’s teams and 92 men’s teams that earned All-Academic Team honors for the 2013 season. Programs must have compiled a cumulative GPA or 3.00 or greater and scored at an NCAA Division II regional meet to qualify for the award.

In total, 141 unique programs were recognized, including 89 programs that had both their women’s and men’s teams earn the honor. The Newman men reported the highest team GPA at 3.80, while the King women topped their gender with a 3.78.

The PSAC led all women’s conference with 15 teams earning All-Academic honors, followed by the NSIC with 14 and the Northeast-10 with 13.

Men’s conferences were also headlined by the PSAC with nine teams earning the honor, followed by the NSIC, the GLIAC and the RMAC with eight each.